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Etisalat Group Signs 4G LTE Agreements with Alcatel-Lucent

With an increasing number of customers using the Internet on their mobile phones, the demand for mobile broadband has skyrocketed. In fact, service providers are struggling to keep up with the demand for mobile broadband, in countries where this market is still in its infancy.

Looking to improve its LTE coverage in Sri Lanka, Etisalat (News - Alert) has signed a joint agreement with Alcatel-Lucent. Etisalat will make use of Alcatel-Lucent’s lightRadio solution in providing its LTE services in Sri Lanka.

The company recognizes high-bandwidth mobile broadband services in Sri Lanka, and looks to explore opportunities in this field.

The new LTE (News - Alert) extension allows users to experience a fast and secure mobile broadband that supports advanced features, such as high-definition content and video conferencing. It also allows users to download high-definition videos from the popular social networks.

The Sri Lankan government is set to award LTE licenses nationwide in the near future. Etisalat’s agreement with Alcatel Lucent (News - Alert) comes at the right time for the company to exploit opportunities in the Sri Lankan market.

In its lightRadio application, Alcatel Lucent makes use of 3GPP Release 8 standards and Bell Labs (News - Alert) innovation to provide advanced load balancing features. According to the firm, this application supports the ever increasing demand for mobile broadband.

Dumindra Ratnayaka, CEO at Etisalat Lanka, said, "Etisalat Sri Lanka being in the fore front of the High-Speed Mobile Broadband Market, launched DC-HSPA+ technology last August. Customers thrive on fast and reliable connectivity and depend on our technology to run their businesses and manage their interests. This joint business collaboration with Alcatel-Lucent (News - Alert) will enable our customers to experience cutting-edge broadband connectivity in terms of fast Internet access, mobile TV applications, video streaming and video calls.”

Recently, the company partnered with Wirecard to present various mobile payment solutions at the Mobile Word Congress 2013 in Barcelona.